An increasingly restricted feline
Previous Population and DistributionDutch colonists in the early 20th century report that tigers were so numerous and bold that they would enter the planters' estate house compounds. A 1978 estimate put the population of Sumatran tigers at 1,000.
Current Population and Distribution
Today the wild Sumatran tiger population is estimated at fewer than 400 individuals. They are found in the Kerinci Seblat - Bukit Barisan Selatan (Indonesia) landscape, which represents the Sumatran Island Lowland and Montane Forests Global 200 Ecoregion and covers Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parks. The landscape stretches from Tesso Nilo in Riau to Bukit Tigapuluh, and then from Kerinci Seblat to Bukit Barisan Selatan.
The tigers in this landscape make up a significant proportion of this population. Altogether, it is estimated that Sumatra has approximately 130,000 km² of habitat for tigers, only one-third of which has some form of protection from development and logging.